Mangakahia leads Syracuse to overtime victory against Virginia Tech

Mangakahia leads SU to overtime victory against Virginia Tech

Tiana Mangakahia scored a season-high 27 points.
Published: January 6, 2019

A three and a free throw from Tiana Mangakahia gave the Orange a victory over Virginia Tech 75-73 after a grueling overtime period.

Syracuse (13-2, 2-0) started the game with an intense first quarter and ended with a 24-12 lead over Virginia Tech (13-2, 0-2. But the second quarter was a comeback for the Hokies, as they went on a 17-8 run and ended the half only trailing by three.

The Orange struggled in the second half, often committing unnecessary turnovers and just looking generally lethargic on the floor. The defense was allowing more and more players to penetrate their defense and get to the bucket, in addition to some good outside shots from the Hokies.

Additionally, Miranda Drummond was very much not herself today. Drummond usually averages 12.1 points per game, but today she went 0-8 from the field and only finished with two points from successful free throws. Before today, she’d hit a three in 25 straight games.

Virginia Tech’s Taylor Emery led the Hokies to a hard-fought third quarter in which Virginia Tech outscored Syracuse 20-17. At the end of the third, each team sat with 49 points. Emery and Mangakahia each finished with 27 points, a season-high for Mangakahia.

After another tiring quarter, Syracuse and Virginia Tech each ended with 67 points after a free throw from Cuse’s Kiara Lewis and a lay-up from Emery to put the game into overtime.

Emery hit the first shot — a three — about 17 seconds in and gave the Hokies a 70-67 lead over Syracuse. Digna Strautmane and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi each hit buckets of their own to put the Orange ahead once again, and the Hokies tied the game at 71 each with a free throw from Aisha Sheppard. Mangakahia came in clutch and sank one from deep and a free throw to solidify the win against Virginia Tech.

The women’s team will play North Carolina next Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Dome.